Best budget camcorder recommendation?

stefaniw80401 · #1 05-28-2009, 03:08 PM

Dear TB collective,

I'm in music school and would like to record my performances in the studio and recitals. Shooting from the back row (on a tripod) of a small hall/theatre (<400 seats) is where I'll be mostly. So a good zoom and sound is priority. Is there anything out there that fits this description for under $300?

Mods: feel free to relocate this thread if I posted it in the wrong forum.

- Mark

ThomsonKneeland · #2 06-01-2009, 12:12 AM

Pretty sure you won't be able to find anything decent in that price range soundwise. Most camcorders just don't have a very good microphone, and now most of the budget ones dont even include a microphone input. I've been researching and looking, and I am kind of stuck at the moment. And with your camcorder that far away in the hall, the sound quality is going to be that much worse...
Not sure what to tell you. If I figure anything out, I'll let you know.
My best suggestion is to find something decent with a mic input so you can upgrade the sound quality on some level

boombloom · #3 06-01-2009, 05:02 AM

I get surprisingly good results from a FLIP camera. Google Flip video.

fingers · #4 06-01-2009, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boombloom

I get surprisingly good results from a FLIP camera. Google Flip video.

+1. I recorded a gig with one of these the other day and was very impressed. Reasonably priced, very small (the size of a regular snapshot camera) and the fact that it is a 'hard disk' recorder as opposed to tapes is cool.

moles · #5 06-01-2009, 11:18 AM

If you're concerned about sound quality - why not just record the audio from a different source? Like rent/buy a Zoom H2 or something. You can edit the video and audio together afterwards easily if it's all done in one shot.

eucalyptus · #6 06-17-2009, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moles

If you're concerned about sound quality - why not just record the audio from a different source? Like rent/buy a Zoom H2 or something. You can edit the video and audio together afterwards easily if it's all done in one shot.

speaking of which.. how do you edit audio and video together which have been recorded by different sources? this is something i am very interested in learning how to do, but it seems like it would be really difficult to sync-up the sound with the action. can it be done in a program like iMovie?

neilG · #7 06-17-2009, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eucalyptus

speaking of which.. how do you edit audio and video together which have been recorded by different sources? this is something i am very interested in learning how to do, but it seems like it would be really difficult to sync-up the sound with the action. can it be done in a program like iMovie?

I think the ideal thing is to find a camera that has an input for a microphone. That's what I'm going to be looking for so I can use my H4 with it.

moles · #8 06-17-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eucalyptus

speaking of which.. how do you edit audio and video together which have been recorded by different sources? this is something i am very interested in learning how to do, but it seems like it would be really difficult to sync-up the sound with the action. can it be done in a program like iMovie?

I don't have a real big wealth of knowledge about current apps that would do this - I still use Logic 5 for audio (it works, and I don't want to have to buy a Mac for ver. 6 and up). I know newer versions of Logic have added video editing - sync'd with the same smpte timestamp that you have on your audio track. Maybe Nero or something like that could give you basic capabilities on a PC?

All you really have to do to get the audio and video sync'd up is have an event (like a clapper, or just use your hands, or something similar) at some point in the recording that gives you a defined visual and a corresponding impact sound source.

eucalyptus · #9 06-17-2009, 03:11 PM

oh, that makes good sense (having an 'event' like a clap to signal the sync-point). but still it seems it would be easy to get out of sync by milliseconds or something. i am talking about video with several clips shot out of real-time but edited together to be seamlessly linear (not necessarily music-related, but like 'scenes' with dialogue, etc). the only editing program i have is iMovie on my macbook, and my camcorder has no external mic jack. so i was thinking of getting something like the zoom H2 and then trying to edit everything together in post. seems like it would be a very tedious process, but maybe it's easier than i imagine. the H2 is good, right? at least better than my camcorder mic probably? BTW, sorry for the digression.. i know this is not a video and technology forum. this thread just happened to be on a topic i've been wondering about lately..

ThomsonKneeland · #10 06-17-2009, 10:30 PM

I have the Zoom H2 and am quite happy with it...I sync up any audio with video in either Adobe Premier or Mac i movie and find it quite easy to handle. Of course I am not doing any serious audio editing...just a seamless in and and out synced to the video.

eucalyptus · #11 06-19-2009, 02:33 PM

ah.. good to hear, thanks!